SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. prairie chicken. Pedioc^tes phasianellus. Char. Above, black and brown irregular stripes; wings and wing-coverts spotted with white ; head with slight crest, a naked patch oforange color over the eyes; two middle tail-feathers longer than the others;lower parts white, with dark V-shaped markings; legs and feet feathered.Length about 17 inches. Nest. In open woodland or on border of grove, or in thicket along astream, hidden under brush or at foot of a low bush ; a slight depressionin the ground scantily lined with grass and feathers. Eggs. 6-14 (usually about 12) ; reddish brown or yellowish brown,marked with fine spots of a.darker shade of brown; 1.70 X 1-25. This curious species of Grouse is also principally an inhabi¬tant of the coldest habitable parts of the Araerican continent,being found around Hudson Bay in the larch thickets through¬out the whole year. It is not uncommon in the forests of theRocky Mountains, and Mr. Say saw it in the spring likewise inMissouri but little beyond the settlements, at which season italso visits the vicinity of Fort William, on Lake Superior. Wemet with it on Larimie's Fork of the Platte in June, where itwas breeding. As an article of food it proved plump and wellflavored, superior almost to any other of the large species inthe United States. These birds are, as usual, shy and solitary,living only in pairs throughout the summer, when they subsistmuch upon berries. In autumn and winter they are seen mov¬ing in farailies, and frequent the thickets of juniper and larch,on whose buds, as well as those of the birch, alder, and poplar,they now principally live. They usually keep on the ground.